Since U Been Gone
by kJimLVE
Summary: Ginny's sick of Draco cheating on her so she takes matters into her own hands... by wrecking his new girlfriend's apartment for revenge. Flashbacks to Draco and Ginny's late Hogwarts years. OneShot. Based on the song by Kelly Clarkson.


Disclaimer: Neither Harry Potter nor the song "Since U Been Gone" belong to me.

Since U Been Gone

Ginny Weasley turned the key in the door, opening it with a click. Checking to make sure her wand was still in her pocket, she stepped inside Marietta Edgecomb's apartment. Nobody was home, she was sure. A look of disgust crossed her face while she surveyed the spotless room and all its expensive decorations. Her eyes noticed a picture frame on a clear glass table of her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend and his "other woman." _One of his _many_ other women_, Ginny's mind said disdainfully.

_Here's the thing  
We started out friends  
It was cool but it was all pretend  
Yeah yeah since you been gone_

Ginny had approached Draco for the first time in her sixth year. Dumbledore had just told the Order that Draco would be joining them, and instead of grumbling like the other members, Ginny decided she would talk to Malfoy. At first he was guarded, but he eventually let his wall down.

Flashback

"Excuse me?" Ginny said quietly, stepping out from behind one of the shelves in the library. "M-Malfoy?"

Draco Malfoy looked up from his book and stared at the redhead. One foot was propped up on his knee and while he was leaning over the book in his lap his long blonde hair fell into his eyes. "What, Weaselette?" he snarled.

Ginny stayed standing next to the shelf, afraid to move any closer. "I, er, I just wanted to, uh, ask if…" she stammered.

"Spit it out, Weasley," Draco said slowly.

"Dumbledore said you were part of the Order now." Ginny blurted out. She dared to look Malfoy in the eye and saw he was staring at her with unblinkinly. _Wait_, Ginny thought, _is that a hint of appraisal in his gaze?_ She shook the thought out of her mind. _Of course not._

Showing no emotion through the tone of his voice his replied, "It's true."

"Can I ask why?" Ginny questioned. She immediately regretted it when he looked up from his book to glare at her.

"Because it is the side I dislike less," Draco replied. Ginny gathered up all of her Gryffindor courage and sat down in the armchair next to him. For a second, she thought of how attractive he really was.

"But You-Know-Who will be after you now. You just lowered your chances of survival to almost nothing," Ginny whispered.

"Do you think I did the right thing, though?" Draco said seriously. His grey eyes stared strait into her bright brown ones, their faces less than two feet apart.

"Of course," Ginny said. "I just didn't expect this from you. People who appear so cold on the outside do not take actions as drastic as yours very often, one would think."

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment. "I didn't expect this from you, either," he said. When he saw the puzzled look on Ginny's face, he continued. "For you to be so mature."

"Thank you," Ginny said, a small blush creeping into her cheeks. Draco Malfoy, of all people, had just given her a compliment. Draco snapped his book shut, jerking Ginny out of her thoughts.

"Bye, Ginny," he said after he placed it back on the shelf and started walking away.

"Bye, Draco," Ginny said before he was out of earshot.

End Flashback

In a few weeks Ginny had kindled a friendship, and she had maintained it with Draco for the rest of her sixth year. At his graduation, she had thought more about him than Harry, Ron, and Hermione added together. That night was their first kiss, and the kiss that started their relationship.

_You're dedicated you took the time  
Wasn't long til I called you mine  
Yeah yeah since you been gone_

Flashback

Ginny was eating dinner when a lone owl dropped a letter onto her table. She slid her finger under the wax and unrolled the scroll, glad that she chose to eat alone that night. Inside was a message from Draco.

Gin,

Meet me by the lake after the ceremony. Come alone.

-Draco

Ginny waited anxiously for the ceremony to finish because she had no idea what the letter was about. She watched Draco, waiting for him to leave so she could follow him. He stood up, left the Slytherin table and walked out the front doors. Ginny made up an excuse for leaving her friends and slipped out after him.

In was dark out and the night was cool, but she was quite comfortable. She all but ran out towards the lake, but when she got there Draco was nowhere to be found. "Draco?" she said nervously.

"Ginny," Draco said from behind her, and Ginny whirled around. He took a couple steps towards her.

"Why did you want to meet me here? I was worried something was wrong and-" Ginny's words were cut off by Draco's mouth descending upon hers. She quickly melted into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck while he wrapped his around her waist. Right then, Ginny was in heaven.

End Flashback

Draco was training to be an auror during Ginny's seventh year, so she didn't see him as often as she would have liked. She was also busy studying for her NEWT's, so she and Draco didn't start a real relationship until after she had left school.

The Weasley family had trouble accepting Draco. Ginny had never told them when they had become friends and she kept delaying telling them about the relationship. When she finally did, it came as a huge shock.

Flashback

"What!" Ron bellowed, his face turning red. He glared at Ginny with a look that could kill. She sat quietly at the kitchen table, afraid to face her family.

Charlie moved to sit next to Ginny. "Is this true, Gin?" he asked her. Ginny just nodded her head, already close to tears.

"It _can't_ be true! He's a bloody _Malfoy_!" Fred shouted.

"He's part of the Order, now, Fred," Mrs. Weasley said.

"That doesn't change who he was, Mum!" George said.

Ginny stood up. "Draco was never any of that! Please, George, don't react like this. You see, this is exactly why I was afraid to tell you for six months."

"Six months?" Mr. Weasley said quietly. "You've been with him for six months?"

Ginny ran to her father and grabbed one of his hands with both of her own. "Please, Dad, I care about him. I really do," she said meaningfully. Mr. Weasley looked into his daughters eyes.

"It's alright," he said. "Boys, this is Ginny's decision. She has the right to be with Draco Malfoy."

End Flashback

But now Ginny didn't see why she went through all that trouble if her boyfriend was a lying, cheating bastard. She had always suspected he wasn't faithful, but had always refused to believe it. _No wonder he never wanted to talk about our future_, Ginny thought. _He didn't see me in his._ Now, two years into their relationship, Ginny was finally ending it.

_And all you'd ever hear me say  
Is how I pictured me with you  
That's all you'd ever hear me say_

Flashback

"Gin?" came Draco's voice from outise the door to her flat. After a few seconds of waiting, he called again. "GIN?"

Ginny ran to the door, pausing to straighten her top and smooth her hair before she opened it. She slowly pulled the door open, and caught a glimpse of the grin on Draco's face before she flung herself on him. Letting him go, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. "Dinner's almost ready," she said.

Draco seated himself at her kitchen table and ran his hands through his hair, letting out a long sigh. "You seem stressed, love," Ginny said, looking up at him from her position at the stove. "What's wrong?"

"Blaise wants me to find a new place so his girlfriend can stay with him…" Draco said. Ginny turned the stove off and sat down next to him, grasping his hand.

"You know," she began slowly, "you could live here with me, if you want."

Draco looked her straight in the eye but showed no emotion in his face. "I'll work it out on my own," he said.

"Every time I suggest this, you say that. Come on, Draco, it's time for you to anyways…" Ginny began, but Draco cut her off.

"No, Ginny, it's not," he said, standing up to help her set the table.

End Flashback

Ginny walked through Marietta's bedroom, knocking pictures off the dresser as she passed them. She slid open the drawers and threw the clothes over her shoulder, not caring where they went even when she heard the sound of a lamp crash. After she had emptied most of the drawers she ran a jumped on the bed. Using her wand to create a tear in the bedspread, she ripped open that tear and all the feathers flew out. She did the same with the pillows and mattress. She lay down on the bed and watched the feathers slowing float down around her.

_But since you been gone  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so movin' on yeah yeah  
Thanks to you now I get what I want  
Since you been gone_

Ginny walked into the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and picked the feathers out of her shoulder length, layered auburn hair. Ginny found Marietta's make up bag and dug through it. Some brown eye shadow and pale pink lip gloss caught her eye so she pocketed them. The rest she dumped in the toilet, giving it a good flush.

_How can I put it? You put me on  
I even fell for that stupid love song  
Yeah yeah since you been gone  
How come I'd never hear you say  
I just wanna be with you  
Guess you never felt that way_

Ginny stepped into the living room and knocked over the stacks of CD's. She flipped the couch and turned the chairs on their sides. With and evil glint in her eyes she cast a temporary sticking charm on the pieces of furniture she knocked over. _Touché, bitch! _She thought.

_But since you been gone  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so movin' on yeah yeah  
Thanks to you now I get  
I get what I want  
Since you been gone_

In the kitchen, Ginny used a knife to scratch a big heart with a jagged line through it on the countertop. If you stood next to it with the light on, the glare made it perfectly easy to see. She took the icecream out of the freezer and scooped some out with the knife she had just used, carefully licking it off. She set it next to the sink, deciding to "forget" about it. Ginny poured olive oil from the pantry all over the tile floor, and a whole pound of sugar scattered on top of that. She opened up a bar of chocolate and split it into a couple pieces, sticking them under the sink, behind the coffee-mugs, and in the utensils drawer. Maybe some ants would find them.

_You had your chance you blew it  
Out of sight out of mind  
Shut your mouth I just can't take it  
Again and again and again and again_

Ginny took out a necklace from her pocket. It was Draco's first gift to her, on the night of their first kiss. She had adored it then. She despised it now. She hung it on the chain hanging down from the fan in the living room, watching it swing back and forth.

_But since you been gone  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so movin' on yeah yeah  
Thanks to you now I get  
I get what I want  
Since you been gone_

When Ginny was about to turn around, she noticed the picture of Marietta and Draco. She grabbed it and slammed in into the glass table, breaking both that and the frame. Satisfied, she walked out the door, grabbing a hat from Marietta's coat rack on her way out.

When she walked out of the building Draco and Marietta were walking towards the door. Ginny quickly turned away, pulling the hat down over her eyes as she did so. Luckily, the other two were so absorbed with each other that they didn't notice her. She walked down the street, not looking back.

_Since you been gone (since you been gone)  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so movin' on, yeah yeah  
Thanks to you (thanks to you)  
Now I get, I get what I want  
I can breathe for the first time  
I'm so movin' on, yeah yeah  
Thanks to you (thanks to you)  
Now I get (I get)  
You should know (you should know)  
That I get, I get what I want  
_

_  
Since you been gone  
Since you been gone  
Since you been gone_


End file.
